Cauvery row: Now, Tamil Nadu teachers to send 10 lakh postcards to PM

TRICHY: Taking a cue from school children who are sending postcards to the Prime Minister urging him to set up the Cauvery Management Board (CMB), teachers too have decided to follow suit. Tamil Nadu Teachers Federation (TNTF) state president S Muthusamy said in Karur that the organisation planned to send 10 lakh postcards to the PM in support of CMB starting Monday.
“The whole state has come together and protests are being held at various places. The federation too has decided to write to the prime minister emphasising this,” said Muthusamy. The demand for steps to constitute the board was the first resolution passed at the federation’s district conference at Karur on Sunday. “A total of 10 lakh post cards have been planned to be posted in the next one week. Over 50,000 members of TNTF across various schools would get the post cards handwritten by fellow teachers, government employees and general public propagating the message,” he said.

“Cauvery is also the major source of drinking water for a majority of the people in the state apart from being critical to farming. The Union government must take a decision steering clear of the political gains to be made in Karnataka,” said Muthusamy. The meeting also registered its opposition to the appointment of M K Surappa, who hails from Karnataka, as the vice chancellor of Anna University. It has sought the cancellation of the posting and appointment of someone from Tamil Nadu as the VC.

The conference also urged the state government to roll back the contributory pension scheme for government school teachers which was also an election promise of late chief minister J Jayalalithaa.